Practical Guide: Changing a Flat Tire - Safety and Procedure

This assignment provides a detailed, step-by-step guide on how to change a flat tire on a car. It begins by emphasizing the importance of safety, including finding a stable and level surface, engaging the parking brake, and securing the vehicle. The guide then outlines the procedure for retrieving the spare tire and jack, properly positioning the jack, loosening the lug nuts, lifting the vehicle, removing the flat tire, mounting the spare, tightening the lug nuts in a star pattern, lowering the vehicle, and finally, fully tightening the nuts and replacing the hubcap. The assignment stresses the importance of safety precautions throughout the process, such as keeping the flat tire under the car during removal, and turning on the emergency lights, as well as taking the flat tire to a mechanic for repair or replacement. The assignment references multiple sources to support the instructions.

Changing Tyres: How to do it
Cars have become the necessity of life, as the modern day life is becoming fast-paced.
Driving vehicles isn’t an easy task and the driver has to keep a tab on the direction and other
complexities of the driving process. Traveling by vehicle on the rough roads calls for several
hazards, and one of them is landing up with a flat tyre. A critical task the driver needs to
know is how to change the tyres when one of them gets punctured. This paper intends to
demonstrate the way a flat tyre is changed.
The first step to be taken for changing flat tyre would be to look for a flat and stable
place which will be safe for changing tyres. The surface should be sturdy, and leveled so that
the car does not roll while changing the tyre. (Cordaro)
One should pull the hand brake of the vehicle after parking it. If the car has a standard
transmission, then one needs to put the car in the first gear or the reverse gear. Then one
should put a weighty object like rock or concrete in front of both the front as well as back
tyres.
Next one should retrieve the spare tyre as well as a jack. The jack should be placed
beneath the frame close to the tyre that needs to be replaced. Make sure the jack is properly
connected to the car's body frame and not the molded plastic parts as they would crack while
lifting. In case of jack positioning doubt, refer to the owner's manual. Majority of the modern
cars have some kind of spot right behind the front-wheel wells and at the front of the wells of
the rear-wheel intended for the placement of the jack. In case of trucks or for the older cars
having a frame only, one should position the jack beneath one of the beams of the frame just
behind the front tyre and right before the rear tyre.
After proper positioning, one should elevate the jack till it supports the vehicle and
not lift it. Ensure that the jack is placed firmly against the underside of the car and
perpendicularly positioned against the ground

Next take off the hub-cap by loosening the nuts turning it anti-clockwise. Do not
remove them completely, only disrupt the struggle. Ensure that the wheel must be on the
floor while slackening the nuts and the nuts are being turned and not the wheel. Utilize the
wrench that has been provided with the car as it slips easily over the nut and doesn’t rattle.
Then pump or crank the jack in order to lift the tyre above the floor. It should be
sufficiently high for removing the flat tyre and replacing it with the extra tyre. Ensure the car
is stable while lifting. In case of instability, or the jack is leaning, lower the jack and find a
solution before compelely lifting the car. One should also keep a small jack stand to support
the normal jack in case the jack fails. (Quinn)
Next remove the nuts entirely by turning them anti-clockwise. Then one should
remove the tyre. As a precautionary measure, do keep the punctured tyre under the car for
preventing injury. In case the tyre gets stuck owing to rust, do hit the inside portion of the
tyre in order to make the tyre loose, or hit the outside half with the spare tyre.
Next keep the extra tyre on the hub. Ensure that the spare tyre’s rim is aligned with
the bolts of the wheel and then place the lug nuts. Then tighten the nuts till they are snug. Use
the wrench to further tighten the nuts to the extent possible. In order to make sure that the
tyre is balanced, avoid fully tightening the nuts one after the other. Rather follow a star-type
pattern around the tyre by zigzagging while tightening the nuts. The final tightening should
be done once the car is down to prevent any chances of its falling.
Next lower the car slowly avoiding putting the entire weight on the tyre. Remove the
jack once the car is lowered fully to the ground. Finish off the tightening of the nuts and then
re-place the hub-cap. Put the flat tyre back in the trunk and show it to a mechanic. Get it
repaired in case of small punctures and in case the tyre is not repairable, get it disposed
properly and buy a replacement. (Shaikh)

Following the above instruction will enable one to effectively change tyres. One
should be in the lookout of passing cars and slopes while changing tyres. The car should park
as far as possible from the road and moving traffic. Last but not the least, the emergency
lights should be turned on. ("How To Change A Flat Tire | Bridgestone Tires")

Works Cited
Cordaro, Bill. "Car Safety Tips For Changing A Flat Tire." Agordon.com. N.p., 2013. Web.
11 May 2019.
http://www.agordon.com/blog/bid/188682/car-safety-tips-for-changing-a-flat-tire
"How To Change A Flat Tire | Bridgestone Tires." Bridgestone. N.p., 2019. Web. 11 May
2019.
https://www.bridgestonetire.com/tread-and-trend/drivers-ed/how-to-change-a-flat-tire
Quinn, Andrew. "How To Change A Tire." wikiHow. N.p., 2019. Web. 11 May 2019.
https://www.wikihow.com/Change-a-Tire
Shaikh, Rahil. "The Step By Step Guide To Change Your Flat Tyre." MotorBeam. N.p.,
2019. Web. 11 May 2019.
https://www.motorbeam.com/the-step-by-step-guide-to-changing-your-flat-tyrethe-step-by-
step-guide-to-change-your-flat-tyre/